Screen printing machine for articles with curved non-circular cross-sectional

ABSTRACT

A screen printing machine includes holding members for holding articles to be printed and for transporting the articles to a printing station. The holding members are adapted to execute pivotal movement about an axis to transport the article to the printing station. The article is transported to the holding device by a conveyor mechanism, which conveyor mechanism is also adapted to receive the articles after they have been printed and released by the holding members.

limited States Patent 1191 Kammann 1 May 14, 19741 [5 1 SCREEN PRINTINGMACHINE FOR 2,971,629 2/1961 Black 101/40 ux ARTIQLES WITH CURVEDNONCHRCULAR l2/1964 Marquiss 101/40 CROSS-SECTIONAL PrimaryExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Clifi'ord D. CrowderAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Amster & Rothstein 5 7] ABSTRACT A screenprinting .machine includes holding members for holding articles to beprinted and for transporting the articles to a printing station. Theholding members are adapted to execute pivotal movement about an axis totransport the article to the printing station. The article istransported to the holding device by a conveyor mechanism, whichconveyor mechanism is also adapted to receive the articles after theyhave been printed and released by the holding members.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures [75] lnventorz Wilfried Kammann,

Buende-Suedlengern, Germany [73] Assignee: Firma Werner Kammann,

Westfalen, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 138,676

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 30, 1970 Austria 3980/70[52] US. Cl 1101/40, 101/124, 101/126 [51] Int. Cl B4111 17/00 [58]Field of Search 101/35, 38-40,

[5 6] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS $250,212 5/1966 Uschmann101/40 0 I HF:

PATENTEDMAY 14 I914 8 l O ,42 2

SHEET 3 OF 3 SCREEN PRllNTING MACHINE FOR ARTHCLIES WITH CURVE!)NON-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTHONAL The present invention relates to a screenprinting machine having an oval printing device, the holding device ofwhich is arranged below the printing. station which consists of a screenand a doctor. The holding device holds the articles to be printed andcomprises two holding members. Preferably, these holding members arearranged opposite to each other with an article'receiving spacetherebetween. One of said members may be provided with a recess toreceive the base of said articles, whilst if the articles have an openneck, for example, as have bottles, the second holding member may have acountersupport provided thereon which is adapted to engage in the neckof the article.

The holding members are adapted to execute a pivotal movement about anaxis extending in the longitudinal direction of thearticle to roll saidarticle dependent on the movement of the screen during the printingprocess.

Conventional automatic screen printing machines are designed only forcross-sectional forms or have only a semi-automatic mode of operation,since the articles to be printed have to be introduced manually into theprinting area. I

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved screenprinting machine by which articles of oval cross-section can be printedin a fully automatic manner. Furthermore the oval printing device iscapable of being arranged to correspond with the particular ing, but canbe used to print articles of different shape.

According to the present invention there is therefore provided a screenprintingmachine having a holding device for holding the articles to beprinted, a printing station consisting of a screen and doctor, saidholding device being located below said printing station and having twoholding members, disposed opposedly to each other with spacetherebetween and capable of holding the ends of said article to beprinted, said holding members being adapted to execute pivotal movementabout an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the articledependent upon the movement of the screen to roll the article during theprinting process, wherein the holding device is arranged so that thesynchronised holding members are on both sides of the path of movementand above theplane of movement of an intermittent conveyor devicewhichis stationary in the article receiving anddelivery area, theholding members being provided on parts pivotable upwardly out'of theplane of movement of the article opposite to the direction of movementof the conveyor and returnable to the plane of movement of saidconveyor, the conveyor having an article receiving recess fortransferring the article to the holding members and for taking thearticle from the holding members after the printing process is complete,said recess being disposed in the direction of movement of the conveyorbehind the printing station, and wherein a part supporting a holdingmember is coupled by way of a rack drive to the screen and at least oneof the holding members is rotatably mounted and connected to a centrallever cooperating with a mounting rail so as to turn said holding memberinto the article receiving and article removing position.

The holding device hassynchronised holding members which are arranged onboth sides of and above the plane of movement of an intermittentconveyor, such as chains having drives, said conveyor stopping in theregion for receiving and delivering the articles. Said holding membersprovided on parts pivotable upwardly out of the .plane of movement ofthe article against the direction of movement of the conveyor into theprinting plane and returnable into the 'plane of movement of theconveyor. A recess being provided in the conveyor for transferring thearticles to the holding members and for receiving the articles from theholding members after printing is completed, the recess being disposedin the direction of movement of the conveyor behind the printingstation. A member supporting a holding member is connected by means of arack drive I to the screen and at least one of the holding members isjournalled to pivot and is connected to a control lever co-operatingwith a mounting rail so as to turn the holding member into the articletransfer and article receiving position.

ln a preferred embodiment the article holding member, more particularly,said holding member having a recess to receive'the base of the article,is controllable in its axial turning movement and is journalled torotate by its shaft with a rolling gear wheel which meshes with a rackdrive for the screen. Secured to this rotary shaft is a control leversupported by a guide roller on a mounting rail effecting the axialreceiving turning movement and moving the'holding members into thedelivery and transfer position upon the completion of printing. Thiscontrol lever is rotatably mounted to turn about the shaft of theholding members.

The mounting rail for controlling the recess extends along a'controlmember adjustable in height and clearance from the pivotal axis of theholding device, so that by setting this control member and by the axialsetting of the control lever, articles having different sizes of ovalcross sections can be brought into a perfect position for take-over anddelivery.

At least one holding member, more particularly, the holding memberhaving a counter support to receive the neck of the article isadjustable in height by means of a bearing rib (with a radial clearancefrom the pivotal axis of the holding device) on a toothed segment sothat articles having different conical surfaces and radii can be erectedon the screen and printed in this screen printing machine.

For receiving'and delivering the particular article, the two holdingmembers are designed to be movable relative to each other with a certainaxial stroke and for receiving articles of different length at least oneof the two holding members can be changed with regard to its axialclearance from the other holding member.

Furthermore, the holding members can be adjusted in height relative tothescreen or to the conveyor so that the oval printing device isadjustable for articles having different radii or curvature or rollingsurface.

The entire oval printing device may be removed as a unit from the screenprinting machine and replaced by a different device for printingcylindrical or flat articles.

The screen printing machine of the present invention is provided with astopping time device for the movement of the screen and the intermittentconveyor; the stopping time of the conveyor is utilised for printing theparticular article. The conveyor stops the article to be printed alwaysat the same point and delivers it to the holding device. The holdingmembers swivel the article opposite to the previous direction ofmovement through the conveyor on a pitch circular path into thebeginning of the printing position and roll it for printing over theprinting machine, said holding members then pivoting in the direction ofthe movement of the conveyor on the same pitch circular path.

Upon the conclusion of the printing process, the holding members areaxially turned by a control device, driven by the movement of thescreen, and at the same time the printed article is swung away from thescreen and brought to the delivery and/or receiving position whichcorresponds to the take-over position. Each article is placed in aperfect take-over or'delivery position by the axial turning of theholding member. In the stand-still time for movement of the screen whichnow ensues the depositing of the printed article and the feeding of thenext article to be printed to the receiving position and its receivingby the printing mechanism takes place.

The screen printing machine is simply designed and due to theconstruction of theoval printing device, perfect printing is madepossible.

This screen printing machine has a rational mode of operationv and greatuse, since this machine, constructed to be completely automatic, may beused not only for oval, but also for other articles of different crosssectional forms without it' being necessary to interchange feed membersor to change operating strokes and driving members.

In addition, no transfer and receiving mechanism (such as liftingmechanisms) are required for the printing mechanism.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a screen printing machine having anoval printing device and a conveyor associated therewith;

I FIG. 2 shows a side view of the machine of FIG. ,1;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a holding device of an oval printing devicefor the machine of FIG. 1, the printing device receiving an end of anarticle to be printed and being in the centre printing position;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the oval printing device and conveyor inthe receiving and delivery position;

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the oval printing device with holdingmember, moving into the printing position; and

FIG. 6 shows a front view of the oval printing device with holdingmember, located at the beginning of the printing position.

The screen printing machine shown in FIG. 1 has a printing stationcomprising a stencil l9 and a doctor 190. It is particularly used forprinting articles 10 of oval cross-section, for example, bottles. Anoval printing device is provided below said printing station and has aholding device 12 provided with two opposing holding members 13, 14holding the ends of an article, for example the base and the neck of thearticle respectively. One of the holding members is preferably formed asa recess to receive the base article and the other as a centering pin.At least one of these troughlike or mandrel-like holding members 13, 14,preferably the recess 13 for receiving the base of the article, isjournalled to rotate axially in the holding device 12 and controllablefor receiving and delivering the article 10 which is to be printed or isalready printed, into the same axially turned position.

The holding device 12 is associated with an intermittent conveyormechanism, such as circulating chains 15 with drives 16 which stop inthe region for receiving and delivering the article, so that thearticles 10 are always stopped by the conveyor mechanism 15, 16 at apre-determined position in the movement of the conveyor mechanism 15,16. By way of example, conveyor mechanism 15, 16 moves from left toright in the illustration of FIG. 1. When the conveyor mechanism isstopped, the articles are delivered to the holding device 12 and arethen returned to the conveyor after printing. The conveyor'mechanism 15,16 being stopped at a pre-determined position behind the printingstation. The drives 16 form a recess to receive the article 10 to beprinted. This recess may be formed either by two drives 16 in spacedserial relationship or by one drive 16 provided with a correspondingrecess in the top surface thereof.

The holding member 13, which is controllable in its axial rotation, ismounted on'a shaft 17 which is rotated by a rolling gear wheel 20. Thegear wheel 20 meshes with a rack 18, the rack serving as a driving meansfor the holding device 12 and associated with the reciprocating printingscreen 19. A control lever 22 is rigidly connected to the shaft 17 andco-operates with a mounting rail 2]. The lever 22 acts to turn theholding member 13 into the receiving and delivery position. The lever 22supports at its free end remote from the shaft 17 a guide roller 23 forcontrolling the recess of said holding member. The control lever 22 maybe secured to the shaft 17 by clip-like member 24 or the like so as tobe axially displaceable and fixable in the desired position so that theholding member 13 may be brought by means of the mounting rail 21, tothe desired position for printing relative to the radius and an angularreceiving and delivery position, thereby ensuring perfect acceptanceand/or depositing of the article.

A stop 25 is held under tension in contact with a pivotal axis 11 by atension member, such as a draw spring or torsion spring 25b. The stop 25is mounted on the control lever 22 and, partially encloses the axis 11in a recess 25a. The stop 25 is held on the axis 11 during the printingprocess until the beginning of the operation of the control lever 22 sothat the holding member 13 is disposed on the printing radius and movesthereon about the pivotal axis 11. The mounting rail 21 extends along acontrol member 26 which is adjustable in level and in its spacingrelative to the axis 11 of the holding device.

The two relatively opposed holding members 13, 14 are synchronouslydriven (during the printing process) in pivotal movements to roll thearticle 10 over the stencil 19.

A block 27, 28 to mount each supporting member 13, 14 is detachablysecured to the screen printing machine. The pivotal axis 11 is mountedin the block 27 with its longitudinal axis at an angle, preferably at aright angle, to the direction of movement of the con veyor and extendsthrough two detachably interconnected toothed segments 20, 29. Onetoothed segment 20 forms the rolling gearwheel and the other toothedsegment 29'forms a transmission gearwheel. These two toothed segments20, 29 are detachably connected together by, for example, screws, andare of different size pitch circle with their toothed areas opposed toeach other, that is, turned through 180 relative to each other.

The toothed segment 29 meshes with a gearwheel 31 rigidly provided on ashaft 30 which is journalled to rotate in the block 27. The gearwheel 31transmits the pivotal movement of the toothed segments 20, 29 caused bythe rack 18 to the shaft 31).

The shaft 30 is also provided with a gearwheel 32 with which a toothedsegment 33 indirectly engaging the holding member 14 engages. Thus,drive is transmitted to the holding member 14.

The holding member 14, formed, for example, as a centering point, ismounted on a bearing bar 34 which is adjustable in height relative tothe toothed segment 33. The segment 33 is adjustable radially relativeto the pivotal axis 11. The bar 34 therefore executes, by means of thetoothed segment 33, pivotal movement about axis 11 which corresponds tothe movement of the toothed segment 20.

Preferably, the holding 'member 13 is provided with a recess whichcorresponds in size and shape with the base of the article to beprinted, while the holding member 14 is preferably formed to a point soas to engage in the open neck of the article 10. The two opposed holdingmembers 13, 14 are axially displaceable relative to each other and havea space ther'ebetween to receive the articles 10. To receive thearticles 10 from the conveyor, the two holding members 13, 14 aredisplaced relative to each other by a certain amount to retain thearticle 10 and, upon delivery, the two holding members 13, 14 move inopposite axial direction so that the article 10 can be delivered. Thisaxial lifting movement of the two holding members 13, 14 may becontrolled in various ways, for example, pneumatically,

' hydraulically or by levers and cam plates.

So that articles 10 of different lengths can be held be- I tween the tworecesses 13, 14 they are constructed to be adjustable relative to eachother with regard to their axial clearance.

Additionally, at least one bearing block 27 or 28, preferably thebearing block 28 carrying the holding member 14, can be adjusted toalter the clearance thereof with respect to the other bearing block 27.However, the relative spacing of the blocks 27, 28 may be adjusted bydisplacement thereof at right angles relative to the direction ofmovement of the conveyor and then fixed at the spacing so determined.Additionally, the bearing blocks 27, 28 are displaceable, for example,along guides 35. Furthermore, displacement of the two bearing blocks 27,28 in the direction of movement of the conveyor is possible and isnecessary to accommodate different radii. For this purpose, the bearingblocks 27, 28 are displaceably supported by guides 36 arranged on theguide 35, so that the bearing blocks 27,

28 may be displaced and secured in position in two directions at a rightangle to each other. The guides 35 and 36 form a compound guide 35/36.

In order to support conical articles 10 having different tapers at oneend thereof between said holding members 13, 14 so that the surface tobe printed is in the horizontal plane, the radial clearance of theholding member 14 from the axis 11 on the toothed segment 33 is adjustedby means of the bearing bar 34. For this purpose, the bearing block 28is adjustable to height, for example, by means of a slot and clampingscrew con nection (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

For coarse adjustment of the height of the recess, the bearing blocks 27and 28 are themselves adjustable in height and the holding member 14makes fine adjustment possible by means of its bearing bar 34. Thisfeature ensures accurate positioning of the article to be printed. Forheight adjustment, both bearing blocks 27, 28 may consist of a housingwhich is vertically displaceable in a guide located between two supportwalls and securable at the desired level by means of clamping screwsengaging through slots (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The slots are arranged inthe stationary or displaceable part.

The control member 26 is adjustably secured to the bearing block 27 bymeans of screws 38 or the like engaging through slots 37 extending at anangle to each other, preferably, an acute angle. I

The printing screen 19 is detachably secured to a slide 39 reciprocatedin known manner. The articles 10 to be printed are brought to the areabelow the screen 19 by means of the conveyor mechanism which isintermittently operated. The receiving and delivery area of an ovalprinting device is located at the place where the article 10 moved bythe conveyor 15/16 stops below the screen 19 (see'FIG. 4). This stoppageis in the direction of movement of the chains 15 behind the pivotal axis11 of the oval printing device. The holding member 13 receives the baseof the article, pivoted by the rack 18 about the axis 11 and turned bythe control lever 22 into a cross-sectional position and thecorrespondingly pivoted holding member 14 receives the article 10 fromthe chain 15. The screen 19 now moves in the other direction and effectsby means of the rack 18 a pivotal movement of the toothed segment 20about the axis 11 (see FIG. 5). The holding member 13 having turned intoa receiving position located in the printing radius by means of thecontrol lever 22 supported on the mounting rail 21.

When the gear 20 has been pivoted sufficiently about the axis 11 fromthe screen 19 to be in the starting position of printing (see FIG. 6),the screen 19 is moved in the direction of the movement of the conveyordevice 15, 16 and the article 10 is rolled over the screen 19 by thegear 20. Printing is effected in the direction of rotation as indicatedby the arrow in FIG. 6. This method of operation has the advantage thatthe printed article is, after printing, immediately deposited intoconveyor 15, 16 and transported to an appropriate delivery position. Ifprinting were carried out in the reverse direction of rotation, then theprinted body, i.e., article 10, would again have to be pivotally movedpassed the printing position, thus leading to possible smudging of thearticle. Thus, contact of the freshly printed image on article 10 isprecluded according to the present in vention.

In this course of movement the control lever stop 25 is held against theaxis 11 by the draw spring 25b and the holding member 13 is guided overthe printing radius so that, without its own axial rotation, the member13 describes a pivotal movement about the axis 11. The spring 25!)retains the lever 25 during printing against the abutment formed by axis11 so that accidentiai movement of the bottle base receiving space isprevented. Thus, the body to be printed cannot be moved apart from itsrolling engagement movement required for the printing operation and,therefore, smudging of the printing image is virtually impossible.

When the printing process is completed, the guide roller 23 of thecontrol lever 22 comes into contact with the mounting rail 21 andfurther pivoting of the toothed segment takes place during the furtherdisplacement of the screen. This feature results in an axial turningmovement of the holding member 13 due to the positive guidance of thecontrol lever.

When the screen 19 reaches the end position of its movement, the holdingmember 13 is returned to a de livery position corresponding to thereceiving position, and it is then able to transfer the printed article10 to the same drives 16 of the conveyor 15, which drives have hithertobeen stationary.

The conveyor l/l6 then moves on by a certain amount and moves the nextfollowing article on the conveyor to the receiving and deliveryposition.

In the screen printing machine, the articles 10 to be printed are alwaysdelivered by the conveyor 15/16 at the same point in the oval printingdevice and received again thereby; this position lies in the directionof movement of the conveyor l5, l6 behind the pivotal axis ll on oneside of the oval printing device.

The stopping time of the conveyor l5, 16 is selected so that itcorresponds to the time in which the article l0 can be pivoted by theoval printing device into the initial position of the printing process,be printed by rolling over the screen 19 with opposed pivoting of theoval printing device and then returned again to the starting position.

The rolling gear 20 and the recess 13 correspond in their shape and sizeto the particular oval shape and the particular printing radius, thatis, the curvature of the surface of the article to be'printed. To printvarious oval shapes it is only necessary to replace the rolling gear 20with the recess 13.

The entire oval printing device may be easily and rapidly removed fromthe screen printing machine, and other devices may also be provided onthe machine for cylindrical or flat articles.

To control the rotation of the holding member 13 about its turning shaft17 away from the printing radius into the take-over and deliveryposition, other devices, such as control means, levers or stops runningin cam plates mayalso be provided.

The holding members 13 and 14 are synchronised in their pivotal movementby the gears 29, 33 shaft and pinions 31, 32.

l claimi l. A screen printing machine having a printing device forprinting articles having curved, non-circular, crosssectional surfaces,comprising:

a printing station including a printing screen and a doctor bladedisposed over said printing screen, an intermittent conveyor locatedbelow said printing station and adapted to move in a predetermineddirection and including intermittently-moved chains includingarticle-transporting members located thereon and having receivingrecesses for receiving an article to be printed and for moving saidarticle in said predetermined direction,

a holding device for said article, said holding device located betweensaid intermittent conveyor and said printing station, said holdingdevice having two oppositely arranged holding members disposed abovesaid intermittent conveyor, variably spaced relative to one another,each of said holding members adapted to releasably retain an end of saidarticle,

said holding device further including means for moving said article in apredetermined path from a receiving position to a delivery position,said moving means adapted to move said article in a generally curvedpath and into a printing plane in a direction opposite to the directionof said conveyor, wherein said printing station-prints on said article,

means for driving said printing station,

said means for moving said article including a first gear adapted tomesh with a racked bar connected to said printing stencil, a rotaryshaft connected to said first gear and mounted on one of said holdingmembers, and a control lever and a stop rail connected to said rotaryshaft, said control lever and said stop rail constructed such that whensaid control lever stops against said stop rail said rotary shaftcontinues to rotate and said holding members are moved for moving saidarticle, said control lever further including means for spring loadingand retaining said control lever and including a stop adapted tocooperate with an abutment wherein said stop is lifted off said abutmentwhen said control lever strikes said stop rail. 2. A screen printingmachine as recited in claim 1, wherein one of said holding members has arecess adapted to receive the base of said article, and is controllablein its axial displacement and is journalled to rotate on its shaft witha rolling gear which meshes with a rack drive for the screen and whereinsaid control lever is secured to said shaft.

3. A screen printing machine according to claim 1, wherein each holdingmember is located on an upper gear segment forming a gear wheel, whichin thecircle of contact is similar to the curvature of the article to beprinted, and on a second lower toothed segment rotatably mounted on apedestal bearing forming a transfer gear wheel and detachably secured inthe lower toothed segment, the upper gear segments with their toothregions being located opposite one another and the two lower toothsegments synchronously coupled by means ofa gear wheel meshing therewithand rigidly connected to these gear wheels.

4. A screen printing machine as recited in claim 1, wherein said controllever is fitted at its end remote from the holding member shaft with aguide roller rolling over the mounting rail and is provided to rotateabout the holding member shaft and wherein a stop keeps the holdingmember in the printing radius during the printing process by holdingagainst the axis by means ofa traction member which is rigidly securedto the control lever.

5. A screen printing machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the mountingrail is provided on a variable control member which is adjustable inheight and in clearance from the holding device, and wherein thiscontrol member has two slots at an angle relative to each other therein,at least one fixing member extending through each slot to secure thecontrol member to 10 4 receiving the holding members being'mounted inbearing blocks detachably secured to the screen printing machine, saidbearing blocksbeing adjustably arranged in two directions at an angle toeach other by means of slide guides, the gearing block carrying thecountersupport holding member being adjustable in height.

1. A screen printing machine having a printing device for printingarticles having curved, non-circular, cross-sectional surfaces,comprising: a printing station including a printing screen and a doctorblade disposed over said printing screen, an intermittent conveyorlocated below said printing station and adapted to move in apredetermined direction and including intermittently-moved chainsincluding article-transporting members located thereon and havingreceiving recesses for receiving an article to be printed and for movingsaid article in said predetermined direction, a holding device for saidarticle, said holding device located between said intermittent conveyorand said printing station, said holding device having two oppositelyarranged holding members disposed above said intermittent conveyor,variably spaced relative to one another, each of said holding membersadapted to releasably retain an end of said article, said holding devicefurther including means for moving said article in a predetermined pathfrom a receiving position to a delivery position, said moving meansadapted to move said article in a generally curved path and into aprinting plane in a direction opposite to the direction of saidconveyor, wherein said printing station prints on said article, meansfor driving said printing station, said means for moving said articleincluding a first gear adapted to mesh with a racked bar connected tosaid printing stencil, a rotary shaft connected to said first gear andmounted on one of said holding members, and a control lever and a stoprail connected to said rotary shaft, said control lever and said stoprail constructed such that when said control lever stops against saidstop rail said rotary shaft continues to rotate and said holding membersare moved for moving said article, said control lever further includingmeans for spring loading and retaining said control lever and includinga stop adapted to cooperate with an abutment wherein said stop is liftedoff said abutment when said control lever strikes said stop rail.
 2. Ascreen printing machine as recited in claim 1, wherein one of saidholding members has a recess adapted to receive the base of saidarticle, and is controllable in its axial displacement and is journalledto rotate on its shaft with a rolling gear which meshes with a rackdrive for the screen and wherein said control lever is secured to saidshaft.
 3. A screen printing machine according to claim 1, wherein eachholding member is located on an upper gear segment forming a gear wheel,which in the circle of contact is similar to the curvature of thearticle to be printed, and on a second lower toothed segment rotatablymounted on a pedestal bearing forming a transfer gear wheel anddetachably secured in the lower toothed segment, the upper gear segmentswith their tooth regions being located opposite one another and the twolower tooth segments synchronously coupled by means of a gear wheelmeshing therewith and rigidly connected to these gear wheels.
 4. Ascreen printing machine as recited in claim 1, wherein said controllever is fitted at its end remote from the holding member shaft with aguide roller rolling over the mounting rail and is provided to rotateabout the holding member shaft and wherein a stop keeps the holdingmember in the printing radius during the printing process by holdingagainst the axis by means of a traction member which is rigidly securedto the control lever.
 5. A screen printing machine as recited in claim1, wherein the mounting rail is provided on a variable control memberwhich is adjustable in height and in clearance from the holding device,and wherein this control member has two slots at an angle relative toeach other therein, at least one fixing member extending through eachslot to secure the control member to a bearing block of the holdingdevice in the adjusted position of the control member.
 6. A screenprInting machine as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the twoholding members is adjustable in axial clearance so as to receivearticles of different length and wherein said holding members areadjustable axially relative to each other, the members receiving theholding members being mounted in bearing blocks detachably secured tothe screen printing machine, said bearing blocks being adjustablyarranged in two directions at an angle to each other by means of slideguides, the gearing block carrying the counter-support holding memberbeing adjustable in height.